Edge City

Rendition

28

MAY/17

The next morning, Pillars called Kinslton; she had her end of the deal, and she wanted to meet. He wanted to delay the meeting, but she wouldn’t have it, so he invited her over. The butler left, and Pillars told Kinslton that Dan Chauncey’s soul was held by Marcy; not only the name, but the letter in the Correspondence that matched it, so there could be no mistake. Then she pounced, and they had intimate contact, and also she pulled the demon grubs out of him; she asked if he wanted to keep one or two, and he wanted two. With her hellish load, she strolled off, leaving Kinslton something of a wreck.

Genevieve checked on her “werewolf gym” to find that development was slow. They were taking rusting playground equipment out of abandoned school buildings, but they didn’t have the funds to put in an after-school tutoring area or a meditation area. Genevieve extended them a line of credit to use with the development of the facility to speed things along.

Adrian’s birthday party would be at Feducci’s the day after tomorrow, so they didn’t want to do anything that would make that a mess. (He would be turning 28!)

Lydia checked in with the bookstore (Burr in tow, to keep an eye on her) and got cleaned up. Things were fine at the bookstore, and Lydia figured that night she’d look for Indigo, to confront him and clear the air about how they left things. Burr figured she’d go along.

The First Visit to Kennedov

Genevieve, Adrian, and Anna went out to the island via Kennedov’s speed boat, and they were welcomed in to speak with him. He appeared to be in his thirties, very energetic with stolen blood. He told them he was looking to bring things to a conclusion, and his intent was that no one would be killed. Genevieve reminded him of their alliance, and that was sufficient; they headed back to the mainland—but Kennedov asked them to send Kinslton his way.

The Second Visit to Kennedov

Kinslton was woken by the telepathic summons, and groggily flew out to the island. Kennedov reminded him of his debt and loyalty, and asked him to come along to capture and retrieve Indigo. To that end, he pointed out a white ash stake; through the heart, it would immobilize but not kill. Kinslton agreed to help, enchanting the stake to work even better.

They went out to the Apache helicopter, and flew into town, guided by Kennedov’s senses to find Indigo.

Finding Indigo

Genevieve and company saw the helicopter, and Genevieve made psychic contact with Kinslton to find out what was up, as well as with Lydia and Burr who were in the area also looking for Indigo. They converged on a building, the Luck Dragon, which was a laundry and an opium den. As Kennedov and Kinslton dropped from the chopper to the roof where Indigo waited, the others cleared all the people out of the building in case it went pyrotechnic.

Kennedov confronted Indigo with waves of supernatural majesty that forced his childe face-down in the sand of the zen garden. Kinslton moved to stake him, and three robed figures came out—Setites. They tried to use their fascinating gaze to immobilize him, but it wasn’t nearly strong enough; awed, they wanted to talk to him, they were enthused about maybe being of service to a Lord of Flesh demon. He set a time and place for the following night. Then they sloped off and he jammed the stake into Indigo, who was helpless.

Below, the others watched as the chopper took off with Indigo as a prisoner. Lydia tried to think of a way to affect what was going on to free Indigo, but sided with restraint, not wanting to add tension or violence to a situation that her friends wanted to stay quiet. She seethed with a lost opportunity to confront Indigo about what he did to her, and what feelings she still had for him.

Do Not Pass Go

Kennedov took Kinslton and Indigo into the bowels of his island, far deeper than expected, to a prison where Indigo was shackled to a wall that was pointed into the earth and locked into place behind a number of other walls. Kinslton was allowed to know his location, though Kinslton suggested he might mind-wipe himself.

The Meeting is Set

Kinslton told everyone he was meeting the Setites, and Genevieve told the Ghost, who rendezvoused with Adrian to be there in case it all went south. Kinslton met with two of the three cultists, and they expressed earnest enthusiasm to offer service to him. Because he was a demon. They gave him a card with contact numbers, and also a stone he could put in the still-warm body of a human sacrifice where the heart goes, to get a more direct line to them. When they left, the Ghost apprehended them for further questioning. Kinslton gave the presents to the Ghost too, and they all left the park.

Directed Meditations

Lydia was brooding, watching the sun come up, when she heard an early morning accordion busker; weird, but too weird when he started playing one of Indigo’s songs. She teleported down to confront him, and he directed her into a restaurant where someone was waiting for her.

She met the Director, who told her some members of the Black Hand had contacted him through his Brotherhood of the Road friends, and they wanted to attack Kennedov’s island and kill him there. The Director finds assassination distasteful, but rescue could be interesting. Lydia agreed, and wanted to be further involved. The Director said he’d contact her, and he slipped out a secret door.